The Arizona Diamondbacks will look for left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to continue his road success on Wednesday night when the team continues its three-game series the Milwaukee Brewers.
Rodriguez (2-0, 2.89 ERA) will oppose Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Sproat (0-1, 6.45).
The Brewers pounded out 15 hits and capitalized on six walks for a 13-2 victory in the series opener on Tuesday night.
Sal Frelick jump-started Milwaukee’s offense with a leadoff homer in the second, snapping the team’s seven-game homerless streak. Milwaukee broke the game open with eight runs in the sixth inning, on eight hits — including two bunt singles — a walk and catcher’s interference.
“That’s being relentless,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said afterward. “You give up two and then you come back. That’s kind of the mentality that you want.”
Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three road starts this season, allowing five runs in 16 innings. He won his most recent start, allowing four runs in five innings at home in an 11-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox last Wednesday.
“I thought E-Rod gave us what he could,” Arizona manager Tony Lovullo said afterward. “He gives us five innings. I think there were some mistakes today, but he made some pitches when he had to.”
Rodriguez is 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA in four career starts vs. the Brewers. He lost both starts against them last season, allowing eight runs, seven earned, in 8 2/3 innings.
Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas singled in his final at-bat in the eighth inning Tuesday, extending his hitting streak to 24 games, including 21 this season. That ties Vargas with Steve Garvey for the fourth-longest streak in the majors to start a season since 1940. Ron LeFlore had a 30-game season-opening streak in 1976.
Vargas also is tied with Ketel Marte (2024) and Danny Bautista (2004) for the third-longest streak in franchise history. Luis Gonzalez had a 30-game streak in 1999 and Tony Womack 24 games in 2000.
With the state of the bullpen, Lovullo said the team likely will make a pitching move Wednesday.
For Milwaukee, Sproat — making his sixth appearance and fourth start this season — is seeking his first win in the majors. He was 0-2 in four September starts last season with the Mets.
Sproat did not get a decision in his last start, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss at Detroit on Thursday. Opponents are batting .275 against him, with five homers in 22 1/3 innings.
Prior to Frelick’s homer, the Brewers had just one in 11 games, including seven straight, the longest streak since a franchise-record 13 without a homer in 1999.
“We had a homer tonight. You guys know that I ordered that,” Murphy said. “I asked Sal, ‘Sal, would you do me a favor, go ahead and homer, get these guys off my back.”
Milwaukee is second from the bottom in the majors with 20 homers, one ahead of San Francisco. The Brewers got some good news on the power front, however, with injured Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn slated to begin rehab assignments at Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
